With tremendous willpower, Ling An jumped down from Verina's arms.
He had nearly forgotten that he was here on business.
It seemed the little flowers blooming along the path had been the work of Verina, the plant-type Resonator.
"Kitty, where are you going?" Verina blinked, her face full of curiosity.
Ling An thought for a moment, then asked with a sliver of hope, "Have you seen anyone wearing a Black Flower around here?"
Verina shook her head. Clearly, she knew nothing about the Black Shores either.
Just as I thought, Ling An mused. He was about to explain further when a tiny fragment of a black flower drifted down from the sky.
His expression changed as he sensed a familiar presence.
He caught the black petal in his palm. Thin and tattered, it looked exactly like the one in the photograph Yinlin had given him.
Sure enough, someone from the Black Shores was nearby.
He said goodbye to Verina and raced toward the summit of Screen Court Mountain, following the presence.
No sooner had he left than Tide Sis and Yangyang arrived at Verina's flower field.
"You're Verina, the plant-type Resonator Granny Lin told us about!" Yangyang waved happily.
"And you are?" Verina asked curiously.
"I'm Yangyang, and this is Rover." Yangyang introduced them. "We came to ask you for a favor."
Tide Sis then handed over the photograph of the Black Flower. "Do you happen to recognize this flower?"
Meanwhile, Ling An paced around the summit. That familiar presence was right here.
Whoever it was had hidden herself.
He frowned, trying to recall why that presence felt so familiar.
He had sensed its watchful gaze when he first entered Jinzhou with Tide Sis.
Back then, aside from Tide Sis, Yangyang, Chixia, and Baizhi, only one person had been lurking in the shadows-
Camellya!
A jolt ran through Ling An as he remembered.
"Looking for me, Ling An?" A languid, seductive voice suddenly rang out.
Ling An whipped around. A white-haired girl in a short skirt slowly approached him, a subtle smile on her lips.
It really was her!
"Camellya, Flower Keeper of the Black Shores, at your service. How did you find me?" Camellya poked her cheek curiously, looking utterly innocent.
"How do you know my name?" Ling An asked warily.
Though Camellya's face was innocent and adorable, Ling An found it impossible to let his guard down.
A veiled aggression was slowly emanating from her.
Just like the delight concealed beneath her coy expression.
"Before that, you really ought to answer my question first!"
Sure enough, her demeanor changed in an instant!
The moment she finished speaking, several vines shot out from behind her, lashing toward Ling An.
Already prepared, Ling An smiled confidently and darted and twisted out of the way...
Only to be trussed up tight.
Looking at the vines wrapped around him, Ling An gave an awkward smile.
Reality had proven that Camellya was no pushover, and his current cat form was still far too limiting.
Even Camellya had not expected this. Her eyebrows rose slightly in surprise.
"How boring." She strolled up to Ling An and bent down. "I thought you'd be a little stronger."
"You've been watching me?" Ling An asked calmly.
"Hey, I'm the one in control here, remember?"
Camellya extended a slender, pale finger and tapped Ling An's head, neither gently nor forcefully.
"Who told you where to find me?"
Meanwhile, in the flower field.
Verina studied the photograph Tide Sis had handed her and said gently, "I can't identify the species, but with my ability, I should be able to reproduce something that looks similar."
She held out her hand, and a black flower bearing an almost perfect resemblance slowly settled into her palm.
Yangyang took the imitation Black Flower from Verina and said excitedly, "They say the Black Shores has quite a few informants in Jinzhou City. If we wear similar Black Flowers, we might be able to draw them out!"
Tide Sis nodded in agreement and turned to Verina. "Thank you, little star flower."
Verina blushed a little. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she asked, "Are you looking for someone wearing a Black Flower?"
"Have you seen anyone like that?" Yangyang asked eagerly.
Verina shook her head, and Yangyang immediately deflated.
"But someone else was here just now, looking for people wearing Black Flowers too."
"Oh? Who?" Tide Sis asked, puzzled.
Verina held out her fingers to demonstrate. "An adorable little kitty, about this big. He even asked me to hold him. Hmm... I think his name was Ling An!"
"Ling An!"
Yangyang was initially surprised by Verina's information. She had not expected Ling An to take the initiative to help search for clues after parting ways with them.
Then she noticed something seemed a little off about Tide Sis's expression.
"Rover..." Yangyang prompted softly.
Tide Sis did not answer. She merely gave Verina a slightly stiff smile. "He asked you to hold him?"
Verina thought for a moment, then nodded emphatically.
"Yes! He's so cute. Do you know him?"
"I do. Very well." Tide Sis's voice was dry, but she was still doing her best to maintain her composure.
"Do you know where he went? With everything in such chaos, it's so dangerous for him to be out there!"
Verina looked toward the summit and pointed. "Uh, over there!"
Then she looked back at Tide Sis and could not help shrinking into herself.
Was it... really dangerous out there?
Why did this Rover feel even more dangerous right now?
She hadn't done anything wrong, had she?
"Thank you, Verina. We'll see you later!" Yangyang hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over.
Even she could not help lowering her voice.
She had always been perceptive. How could she not notice that Rover seemed to feel a strange possessiveness toward Ling An?
That was also why, despite liking cats, she had not often sought Ling An out to play with him.
But right now, there was little she could say.
She could only pray fervently in her heart:
Ling An, Rover is coming! Please don't pull any more stunts!
Meanwhile, at the summit of Screen Court Mountain.
Bound tightly by the vines, Ling An kept his mouth shut in the face of Camellya's questioning.
"Why so quiet? Or... are you secretly cooking up some wicked scheme?"
Camellya looked disappointed, yet as she spoke of a wicked scheme, a trace of anticipation slipped into her eyes.
Ling An stared at her solemnly. Indeed, he had been thinking all this time.
Though Camellya had only tied him up and had not done anything to harm him yet.
Judging by the personality she had shown so far, she might grow bored and decide to kill him the very next second.
Faced with Camellya, who seemed to be someone who did things for her own amusement, Ling An did not think he should gamble on that possibility.
So ever since she had caught him, he had been wrestling with a decision.
Was it worth revealing his true form to subdue Camellya?
Or, to be a little rougher, simply tying her up and taking her to Tide Sis?
Having reached the Tacet Discord class, he was confident he had the strength to do it.
Before you continue